Sensitivity and specificity of BCG scar reading in Brazil

In a cross sectional survey within a community trial of BCG efficacy evalua tion in Brazil, trained teams inspected children's upper arms and obtained information on BCG vaccination from guardian letters and vaccination cards. Nurses re-examined the sub-sample of children blindly. High agreement was found between the two scar readings (Kappa = 0.839). High sensitivity and l ow specificity was observed when guardian or card information was the gold standard. Sensitivity remained high when guardian and card information agre ed. When disagreement occurred, sensitivity remained high and specificity w as very low. BCG scar is a good indicator of BCG vaccination.